Trousers stretcher and hanger.



No. 665,|68. Patented Jan. I, I90l.

s. w. BUNQSALL'.

TROUSERS STBETCHEB AND HANGER. A lication filed m 4, 1899.

(No Model.)

a INVENTOR I ATTORNEY v m: Foams PETERS 00., Pnmouma. WASNIKGTON. n.

WQW I UNTTED STATES PATENT GFFTCE.

SEYMOUR W. BONSALL, OF NEW YORK, N. ,Y.

TROUSERS STRETCHER AND HANGER.

wPEC-IFICATIQN formingpart of Letters Patent No. 665,168, dated January 1, 1901.

Application filed May 4, 1899. Serial No; 715,499. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SEYMOUR W. BONSALL, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trousers Stretchers and Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for hanging trousers so as to preserve their proper shape and prevent rumpling, and more particularly to a simple device for application to closetdoors or walls and like localities, whereby a large number of these garments may be accommodated within a small space, while at the same time affording facilities for quickly reaching any particular garment without disturbing the others.

One of the advantages of myinvention lies in the rapidity and ease with which it can be used, since it involves no preliminary adjustment or manipulation of any kind.

Another advantage of my invention lies in the fact that it may be used as well to stretch trousers as to preserve their shape, thus making it a very simple operation to remove the baggy appearance from the knees, as well as to prevent this bagging in the first place.

My invention in its preferred form is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- 1n- Figure 1 shows the mode of application of my invention to the inner surface of an ordinary closet-door; and Fig. 2 is a side view of one of my clamps, showing the preferred arrangement of the bearing-bar.

The devices hitherto placed upon the market for providing proper suspension of trousers and like garments involve considerable complexity, making it a matter of some trouble to prepare the hanger and properly adjust the garments within the same. For this reason devices of this sort have not been popular in the past. The capacity of these old forms of hanger is also quite limited.

My improved hanger, can be manipulated with one hand, and it involves the expense of only a moment to adjust a' garment in place when this invention is used.

As preferably arranged my spring-clamp consists of a bearing-bar 1, carried by a pair of spring-arms 2.

More specifically considered, my device includes a special back 3, to which a number of clamps are fastened. as shown in Fig. 1, one above the other, the spring-arm of one clamp straddling the bearing-bar of the next to economize space. The back 3 is preferably constructed of thin board, having sufficient flexibility to be conveniently fastened to the framing of an ordinary door without material interference from the presence of the beading often used on the edges of the panels.

In Fig. 1 the preferred mode of application of my device to closet-doors is shown.

The flexibility of the supporting-board is of importance in connection of my invention, since when trousers are folded along the usual crease the seams come midway between said creases and form a thick ridge. Where several pairs of trousers are to be suspended, this ridge is especially noticeable, and in any case the extra thickness at the middle tends to relieve the pressure at the outer edges, and

thus preventthe creasing action of the clamps, which is so desirable. By providing a flexible backing, which by bending accommodates the middle ridge and still allows the ends of the clamps to exert their pressure on the creases, this difficulty is overcome.

As shown in Fig. 2, I prefer to make my bearing-bar with a flat bearing-surface, normally spring-pressed against the back 3 or other convenient support. Under this bearing-surface the bar curves away in a sloping vsurface, as shown in said figure, sothat the fi'ngers may be conveniently introduced under and behind the bar to quickly raise the same when the garments are to be adjusted in place. The top surface of the bearing-bar is preferably made flat, as shown, but should in any case not make an acute angle with the back 3 above the bar, since this causes the weight of the suspended garments to exert a wedging action, tending toopen the clamp and let the trousers fall.

The mode of fastening a pair of trousers in my hanger is shown at 4 in Fig 1. For this purpose the trousers are first folded on the creases, as usual, and the ends of the legs brought together. The bearing-bar 1 is then raised or withdrawn from the back 3 sufficiently to make room to pass the ends of the trousers-legs between said bar and said back, and the bar is then released. The spring action of the arms 2 makes the bar 1 bear strongly upon the garment, whereby it is held, as shown.

By the use of the simple means which I have herein shown the trousers can be hung in groups. Several pairs of trousers can be clamped under one bearing bar, another group under the succeeding bar, and so on. hen it is desired to reach any one pair of any group, the fingers of one hand are introduced under the pairs which lie over the chosen pair and the chosen pair is grasped by the other hand. On slightly raising the bearing-bar with the overlying trousers the pressure on the chosen pair is relaxed, and by simply turning over the hand that grasps the chosen pair without relaxing the pressure of said hand on the underlying trousers the chosen pair can be instantly separated from all the others, after which the bearing-bar is allowed to once more press upon the remaining garments in the group. It will thus be seen that my device enables the user to hang a large number of garments in such a way as to render any one of them available Without disturbing the others.

Another advantage of the form of device shown in this specification is that the multiple clamps act as a pressing and stretching means. By drawing a pair of trousers under one after the other of the clamps, beginning with the lowest, a strong stretch can be given to the cloth, and by leaving the garment to be sustained by the combined action of the clamps the garment can be kept in this stretched position until the bagging or other defect is removed.

I prefer to calculate the width of my back 3, so as to properly bridge the panel of a standard door in order to admit of the adjustment of the Whole, as shown in the drawings. This detail is not, however, essential to my present invention, and, indeed, a number of modifications in the same might easily be made by those skilled in the art without departing from my present invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a trousers-hanger,a flexible plane support and a series of clamps attached to and extending across said support.

2. In a trousers-hanger,two spring-arms and a bearing-bar; in combination with a back piece, the top surface of said bearing-bar being substantially perpendicular to the surface of said back piece, and the lower surface of said bar making an acute angle with said back piece.

SEYMOUR W. BONSALL.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK W. LoNeFELLow, HAROLD S. lVIACKAYE. 

